Man killed in South Beloit industrial accident identified

Tuesday

Mar 11, 2014 at 8:18 AMMar 11, 2014 at 9:24 PM

SOUTH BELOIT — The Winnebago County Coroner’s Office has identified the 39-year-old man killed in an industrial accident at Behr Iron and Metal Monday night as Reynaldo Hernandez-Ortega, aka Alfredo Arrendondo of Beloit, Wis.

Hernandez-Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene of the South Beloit facility at 8:40 p.m.

An autopsy performed Tuesday showed the man died of traumatic asphyxia, Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said.

Winnebago County Sheriff’s Police crime scene investigators were dispatched to assist the South Beloit investigation.

South Beloit Deputy Chief Adam Truman said the accident was reported at 7:17 p.m.

Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Illinois have opened an investigation into the incident. Such investigations into whether the facility was in compliance with federal and state safety standards can take up to six months to complete, OSHA Assistant Director Rich Lambert said.

Electronic records indicate a serious safety violation was found during a spring 2011 inspection of the South Beloit facility. That safety concern was corrected as of July 2011, according to the OSHA records.